Chapter Fourteen
"What the fuck!" Lynn demanded. Lucy blushed heavily, pushing Lincoln away from her. Lincoln leapt out of the bed and grabbed Lynn, putting his hand over her mouth just as she was about to shout for everyone. Lynn's base personality hadn't really changed much over the years. She was still aggressive and while she had calmed down a bit, she was still easily riled up.
"OW!" Lincoln snarled as Lynn bit him hard and elbowed him in the stomach. He refused to let her go though.
"Lucy, close the door." Lincoln said. Lucy closed the door and Lincoln pulled Lynn over to the bed.
"Lynn… I think you can already tell what's going on between Lucy and me. But if you promise not to yell, I'll let you go." Lincoln said. Lynn paused, looking disgustedly at Lincoln, but nodded.
"Good." He said, letting Lynn go.
"What the fuck, Stinkin! I knew you were weird, but I never would have guessed you were 'making out with your younger sister' weird!" Lynn snapped angrily.
"I know it's… Different. But we're not hurting anyone. Please, Lynn… Don't tell anyone. Please…" Lucy breathed anxiously, feeling herself starting to sweat. She'd taken a huge risk telling Lori in the first place. But Lori could be fairly discreet when she wanted to be. But Lynn wasn't very good at keeping secrets.
"Why should I? You're fucking your little sister, aren't you? Who else are you fucking? Lola? Lana? Lisa?" Lynn demanded.
"What! No, of course not! They're children!" Lincoln said urgently.
"So is Lucy! She's thirteen!" Lynn yelled. Lincoln was 16, and his birthday wasn't exactly coming soon. But he was much older than Lucy. Lynn couldn't imagine why Lincoln would do something like this.
"Lynn… Let me talk to you for a few minutes." Lucy said, trying to keep herself calm.
"I asked Lincoln out. I fell in love with him. I just… I need him. He's amazing. I don't know if you know, but I have trouble with anxiety and panic attacks. He really helps me calm down when I'm having problems." Lucy said.
"And I fell in love with him. Can't you just overlook this?" Lucy asked hopefully. Lynn thought for a long moment.
"Okay. I can keep it a secret." Lynn said. She didn't approve of it.
"But you're not allowed to have sex with Lucy until she's 16." Lynn said. She wasn't going to let Lincoln take advantage of Lucy. Lucy blushed nervously, but nodded. Lynn knew that she could weasel whatever she wanted out of Lincoln and Lucy in order to keep this secret. But somehow, there wasn't much that she wanted from them. She did want to test out how much he'd grown thanks to the bionic organs and regenerative nanomachines though.
"You have to do something for me though." Lynn said. Lincoln nodded, gulping nervously.
"Athletically, I could use someone to train with. You have to be up and ready to run and bike with me at 5 am each day. I'll get you home by 6 to get to school by 7." Lynn said. Lincoln sighed. That would be a lot to balance, especially with his SATs coming up. But he had to agree.
"I'll do it." Lincoln said.
"Lynn… Isn't there anything I can do for you instead? Lincoln is so busy lately with his studying." Lucy said. Lynn looked at her.
"Nope. Not a thing I can think of that I want from you." Lynn said. She meant it to be affirming, but instead, it just set Lucy's anxiety on edge. Was she really that useless? Was there no way she could help Lincoln? He was really busy studying and she didn't want him to have to take out time like this.
"Lucy… It's okay. I'll be fine. Besides, Lisa did say that I need less sleep thanks to the bionic organs and nanomachines. I could get to sleep around 11, wake up around 4 and be fine." Lincoln said. He knew Lynn woke up around 4, did stretches and other preparatory exercises and then went out running, biking and swimming to prepare for the triathlon. She had missed the 2020 Olympics because she was still in school at the time and despite her protests, Rita and Lynn wouldn't let her drop out early to be an athlete. Now she had plenty of time though and was training nearly all day.
"I'll do it." Lincoln said, shaking Lynn's hand. Lynn grabbed his hand hard, gripping it tight. Lincoln's UDOM laced bones aside, he still felt her grip. She claimed to have a grip that could crush rocks. And while Lincoln doubted that was true, he'd seen her crush an apple with her grip and break three pencils at a time with it. So he didn't doubt that her grip was extremely strong.
"Good. I'll see you bright and early tomorrow morning. No excuses. Be there, or your secret gets spilled to the whole family." Lynn said.
As blackmail went, Lynn could have demanded a lot more. Lincoln wasn't exactly poor and the money that he got every month from the proceeds of his Full House Gang comics was nothing to sneeze at. She could have demanded all new equipment, and while that would have put a dent in his trust fund, it would have recovered without too much trouble. Instead, she only wanted a training partner. He was actually really relieved.
"Okay. Well, good night then." Lincoln said, hugging Lynn, only to be punched in the stomach. Lincoln didn't get winded. His bionic stomach and lungs couldn't have the air punched out of them. But it still hurt like hell.
"Don't touch me, freak." Lynn sneered, walking out and going back to her room. Lucy looked anxiously at Lincoln, getting back into bed with him, sighing lightly as he kissed her.
"It'll be okay, Luce. More people than I'd like know about our relationship. But Lori I'm pretty sure can keep her mouth shut, Lisa has incentive to do so and Lynn… Well, we can only hope." Lincoln said, starting to feel anxious himself about the whole situation.
"I have a meeting with my Coven tomorrow. I'd like it if you'd come with me." Lucy said quietly. She knew they couldn't reveal their relationship. Haiku may already know. Lincoln was sure that Lucy shared a lot with Haiku, considering her to be a non-romantic soulmate of sorts.
He knew, had heard Lucy and Haiku doing a blood sisters ritual. They didn't actually share blood. But they spilled blood into a mutual circle in which they declared themselves and each other their sister by blood and by bond. Lincoln didn't know if magic was real. But he knew how invested in it Lucy was. He knew how much research she did into magic and how she was a frequent customer at the witchcraft shop downtown to the point that she was on a first name basis with everyone who worked there. She'd bought and read books on multiple subjects related to witchcraft.
These subjects included, but weren't limited to: Reiki, Candle Magic, Crystal Magic, various gods from various pantheons, The Morrigan, Alchemy, the moon, the sun, Tarot, Oracle Cards, Ouiji, blood magic, Demon Summoning and numerology. This list hardly represented all that Lucy had studied. In fact, Lincoln hazarded a guess that Lucy was better versed in magic than she was in English, which was her second favorite subject, especially gothic poetry and similar subjects within English.
"I'd love to join you." Lincoln said.
"The Coven and I will be doing a Demon Summoning at midnight tonight. There's going to be a Lunar Eclipse and we believe that it will create the perfect conditions for summoning a Demon. We've decided on the Demon and each of us have studied the Demon and are prepared to control it." Lucy said.
"We're meeting at sunset tonight and I need you to drive me to the location." Lucy said. Lincoln hesitated. He didn't know if he believed in Demons. But he also wasn't sure he was ready to risk it, to let Lucy take part in a Demon summoning.
"Luce… Are you sure that this is a good idea? I don't want to tell you how to practice witchcraft. You don't tell me how to play video games or how to draw my comics. So I won't tell you how to practice Witchcraft. But are you sure that you're ready to summon a Demon? Even if you have the technical skill… It's kind of like Bonnie, Nancy, Sarah and Rochelle had the technical skill to invoke the Spirit in The Craft. But they weren't prepared for the pure power of the ritual and that power drove Nancy to madness.
"So too is your coven. I don't doubt your talent. I would never doubt that you're well-versed in Demon Summoning, that you have the technical skill and knowledge to do it. But there's more to it. Demons are tricky creatures. They can make you believe that ripping your tongue out is a good idea, that the price they ask for their services is just a trifle. If you want me to be at the ritual, I want you to first decide whether you, Lucy Loud are ready to be there. If you're not, I understand. I won't think less of you." Lincoln said kindly. Lucy smiled, kissing Lincoln lovingly.
"I know. But I need to do this. I don't have a choice." Lucy said.
"What is it that you want from the Demon?" Lincoln asked.
"I want it to grant me my heart's deepest desire. To be with you forever. That I might forever be bonded to you." Lucy said. Lincoln hesitated for a long moment.
"Lucy, I'm… Really flattered. I'm touched that you feel like that. But it's dangerous at the best to ask for something so volatile. I've played tons of horror video games where a deal with a Demon has gone wrong. I've read comics where a man makes a deal with a Demon for love and the Demon perverts that wish and the love he finds is full of pain and suffering rather than joy and pleasure. I want to be with you too. But think about your wish before you make it." Lincoln said urgently. He was worried about Lucy.
"How long have you been planning this wish?" Lincoln asked gently. Lucy sighed, tears stinging her eyes. She just wanted him to be with her forever.
"Ever since we started dating. I'm so afraid that people will find out and that we'll be forced apart. People won't understand our love. But that doesn't mean that our love isn't true." Lucy said, looking intensely into Lincoln's eyes. Lincoln looked away from Lucy, feeling scared.
Scared that he realized that he really did believe in magic. He really did believe that Lucy could summon a Demon if she wanted to. But more scared at how far Lucy was willing to go. How intense her love for him was. How obsessed she seemed to be with the idea of eternity with him. He couldn't let her go through with this. He loved her, but she needed someone to put their foot down and give her the hard truth that she almost definitely didn't want to hear.
"I won't take you." Lincoln said calmly. Lucy looked at him, the look in her eyes showing how heartbroken she was.
"You-you don't want to be with me forever? You don't want to be my eternal?" Lucy breathed.
"I do want to be with you. But I don't want you to risk so much of yourself for me. I love you, Lucy. But I won't let you risk your soul, risk your life for an eternity that we don't even know would be like we think it will.
"You're thirteen right now. When I was thirteen, I was sure that I was going to marry Stella. Remember? I was dating her at the time and we were sure we were in love, that forever was our middle name.
"I remember. You and she broke up after three months." Lucy said.
"I-do you think that will be us? Breaking up after a few months?" Lucy asked, terrified that their love would turn into hate. She remembered how they fought after they broke up. They'd become friends again and they could laugh about the breakup now. But Stella and Lincoln had been at each other's throats.
Lucy had actually been shocked that Lincoln could be so vicious. She'd never seen him behave like that before. She sighed.
"No, I don't think that will be us. I hope it won't be us. I want us to last. But I don't want you to box yourself into something and end up hurt later. Please, Lucy. Will you skip the demonic summoning? For me?" Lincoln asked.
"Will you come with me to the meeting of the coven? We're meeting for the eclipse tonight anyway." Lucy said.
"We're going to meet at intersecting ley lines where a willow tree with immense power has sprung up and do a ritual for the full moon and the eclipse. We've each invested crystals and will be charging moon water for the Hunter's Moon or October's Full Moon. It's a powerful night since Samhain comes in just a few days and the spirit world will coincide with the mortal world." Lucy said.
Lincoln chuckled. He admired how passionate Lucy was.
"Sure. I'll go with you to the moon water ritual. But you have to promise me that the Demon summoning is off." Lincoln said.
"I promise." Lucy said softly.
"Good." Lincoln replied, hugging Lucy tightly.
"Luce, no matter what. No matter whether you're my girlfriend or not, you'll always be my sister and I'll always love you." Lincoln said kindly. Lucy cuddled up tightly to Lincoln, smiling as she took a brief nap before the ritual that they would be doing. She'd stand by her promise and not summon a Demon, especially since Lincoln would be there and she didn't want to betray his trust.